


Glad To Have You

by natashasbanner



Series: Prompts [60]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-25 02:25:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16652518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natashasbanner/pseuds/natashasbanner
Summary: After a rough mission, Bruce is there to take care of Natasha.From the prompt: Bruce gives an injured Natasha a bath.





	Glad To Have You

Bruce was worried and he couldn’t hide it anymore. He’d tried to distract himself in the lab. He hadn’t spent much time in the new facility and it worked for the first two days. But as the sun started to set on the third, he was a ball of nervous energy. 

Natasha had told him, the day before she and Sam left, that their mission was simple. There was an arms dealer selling alien tech and ended up on their radar. They weren’t taking him down on their own, just gathering intel to try and gauge how large the operation actually was. She’d said it would be an easy in and out, but three days in and they weren’t back yet, he was starting to believe it wasn’t as easy as they’d anticipated. 

Natasha had taken on a less active role with the team in the last few months, more focused on fighting for a revision of the Sokovia Accords with Rhodes. But her expertise was required this time and she recruited Sam and a few backup agents to accompany her. 

Bruce was preparing to spend another restless night alone when he saw the lights from the quinjet coming in. As quickly as he could, he hurried to entrance of the jet hangar, realizing he’d forgotten to put on a pair of shoes before sprinting through the facility. He slid to a stop as the doors opened. The agents that had gone with them were the first to reenter the facility, they looked a little worse for wear, but none were seriously injured. Sam followed closely behind them. 

“Where’s Natasha,” Bruce asked, stepping in his path.

“She’s coming,” he sighed and pointed back at the doors. 

Bruce nodded and let him go and waited for Natasha. He held his breath when he saw her getting closer, a slight limp in her gait. From afar she seemed alright, but the closer she got the more the bruises and scrapes became apparent. Against her suit there were dark spot and he swallowed around the lump in his throat, hoping it wasn’t blood. 

“Hey,” she said softly when she was close enough. She looked tired. 

“How was it?” He asked, unable to help himself from reaching out and brushing some of the hairs that had fallen out of her braid out of her eyes. 

“Could’ve been better,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. He didn’t miss her slight wince at the movement. 

“Wanna talk about it?”

She shook her head and reached for his hand. “I just want some sleep.” 

“Okay,” he turned and lead her down the hallway toward their suite. 

They walked slowly and quietly through the empty halls until they reached their destination. Bruce opened the door and held it for her to enter in front of him. She started for the bed, but he caught the hand. 

“You should probably get cleaned up first,” he said and eyed the cuts and bruises and dark stains on her suit.

She smirked, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “You should see the other guy.” 

“I’d rather not,” he said chuckled softly. “Do you want to get checked out in medical?” 

She shook her head. “It’s not mine.” 

Bruce nodded and steered her in the direction of the bathroom. She sat down on the toilet, her eyes unfocused as they were trained on the opposite wall. Bruce shuffled in front of the tub, contemplating the best course of action. He wasn’t certain she’d be able to stand through a shower, but a bath probably wasn’t a good idea if the blood wasn’t hers. 

Decision made he reached into the shower and turned the water on, adjusting the temperature until it was hot enough. He stripped himself down to his boxer shorts before turning to her. 

She looked up at him, her eyes still unfocused and a little misty. He knelt down in front of her and touched the zipper of her boots. 

“May I?” he asked her softly and she nodded silently. 

He pulled down the zipper of each boot and slowly eased them from her feet. She let out a short breath when he tossed them in the corner and closed her eyes as he ran his fingers along the back of her leg. He stood up and held his hand out to her. She took it and let him pull her up from the toilet. 

He traced his fingers along the collar of suit until they reached the zipper. He pulled it down to her waist, revealing the sports bra she wore underneath. Her stomach was peppered with red marks and a developing bruise that looked suspiciously like a footprint. He bit his tongue, she’d talk about it when she was ready. Instead, he pushed the suit away from her shoulders and she pulled her arms out. 

She took over from there, pushing it the rest of the way down her legs, taking her underwear with it. When it was pooled around her ankles, she stepped out of the pile of stiff fabric and pulled the sports bra off over her head. 

Bruce opened the door for the shower and watched her step under the spray. He dropped his pants and stepped in after her. He let her stand under the hot water for a little while. Her muscles relaxed and she tilted her head back. Bruce took the opportunity to pull the elastic from her hair and undo her braid. Her hair cascaded around her shoulders and he kissed the back of her head. 

Natasha turned around and leaned forward until her forehead rested against his shoulder. 

“Thank you,” she whispered. 

Bruce brought his hand up to cradle the back of her head. 

“Don’t mention it,” he said. “I’m glad you’re okay.” 

“This one was close,” she said, leaning back to look him in the eye. “I didn’t think I’d make it back this time.” 

Bruce let out a shuddering breath and let that sink in for a minute. He shook his head and hugged her close. 

“You’re safe now,” he whispered. “You’re home.” 

Natasha wrapped her arms around his middle and clung to his back.

“I uh, I’m glad I have you.” 

He smiled and picked up her loofah and body wash and handed them to her.

“Let’s get cleaned up and get to bed.” 

“Okay,” she said and turned back around. 

Bruce leaned forward and rested his chin on her shoulder. 

“I love you, too.” 


End file.
